January 27, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



73 



amongst the Yorkshire hill?, and in this climate the birds I centre — not very far, comparatively, from the extreme west, or 

 enjoy excellent heilth. I feed them twice a-day, in the morn- I from London, or Birmingham. Just a good central point for 

 ing on soft food made of bran, third quality of flour, small the three, Bristol, then, must be, and it is a good position for 

 potatoes boiled, and any spare food from the kitchen; in the i any place of meeting, hence for a poultry show. It meets the far 

 afternoon I give small Indian corn. This diet is the same for i west, and is yet not too south for the midland counties. If we 

 the entire year. i poor far-away we8t-of-England people are to have such a luxury 



My friends have had many sittings of Houdan eggs from me, I aa a show it ought to be at Bristol. Three times I have been 

 and whereas I have generally had nine or ten chicks from the I to it, and always with increased pleasure — for why? It has 

 dozen eggs, they have had but two or three. Experience has kept on improving. The first year there were 704 pens, this 

 shown that the great point to be observed in the hatching is year over 1300, nearly double in four years, 

 just when the chick is ready to commence breaking the shell. | On my journey, accompanied by sundry fowl and Pigeon 

 The eggs should be previously sprouted with a little warm ' friends (I kept picking them up at the stations), the mere 

 water, and the most gentle and delicate assistance given to the j sight-seers were very free and happy, the exhibitors were full 

 chick to enable it to effect its emancipation from the shell. 1 I of wonder as to their luck, and the intending purchasers were 

 have found that young chickens thrive well on thick oatmeal j longing to carry off their new birds ; I, none of these, but with 

 porridge, after being fed for the first few days of their lives on j the loyal feelings of a west-of-England man determining to do 

 bread crumbs steeped in milk. my best in describing the great west-of-England Show. I kept 



My poultry balance-sheet for the year just ended gives the wondering as to the reason of Bristol's being the head quarters 

 following figures: — Total cost of food, £5 14s. 6d. Reared | of the Spanish fancy. My musings ran thus (while a brother 

 forty-nine fine chickens out of fifty-four hatched. Number of , clerical's ran as to the pen of Light Erahmas he wanted to 



eggs from fifteen laying hens, 1US4. 



I believe that when fowls are lodged in dry, clean, and well- 

 ventilated houses, with a suitable range for exercise, &c, and 

 when they have good food regularly given, they will pay. A 

 very common mistake with careless persons is to over-feed 

 their charge, thus damaging the poultry, and at the same time 

 increasing the expenditure. — L. 



buy): — Shakspeare BayB, " What's in a name ?" implying that 

 a name is of little consequence ; but he puts the words in the 

 mouth of a lovesick gitl of fifteen, Miss Juliet, not in a wise 

 man of the world's mouth. There is a great deal in a name. 

 Thus, when I read the advertisement of " Stiff's starch," I am 

 more inclined to buy it than if its maker was named " Flimsy." 

 "Keen's mustard" I prefer to " Culman's." I expect Keen's 

 will bite my tongue and animate the cold beef, whereas Colman 

 ought at least to sell coke and not mustard ; yet he adopts a 

 GAME FOWLS. bull's head for his trade mark. Why could he not have a 



I fully concur in the remarks of " Charybdis," in the horseradish? The man's trade belies his name, his name his 

 Journal of December 80th, thinking that our Game fowls have I trade - But why, I ask, is Bristol famous for Spanish fowls ? 

 most certainly degenerated since the present Malay-crossed j * answer off-hand, Because so many Bristolians in olden days 

 exhibition type was introduced. I was present at nearly all sai ' e d across the Spanish main. Surely that answer is as good 

 the Yorkshire and Lancashire exhibitions last spring and as anv otter. 



summer (190'J), from the end of May, at Beverley Exhibition, | Bat here I am in that best of exhibition rooms, the Rifle 

 to the middle of September. I consider the true Brown Red j Brill Hall. Well, the gallant riflemen are, in their own place 

 type to be completely spoiled by the introduction of the Malay of drill, thoroughly overcrowed to-day. r/irst to the Secretary's 



blood, with very few exceptions; and at the last Birmingham E 

 bibition, during the first day of which I was present, the Brown 

 Red cocks and cockerels were all, to my mind, very inferior 

 birds, their limbs being too loDg and too thick and clumsy, 

 from the very strong Malay cross. 



Game fowls have ioBt both pluck and constitution by our ex- 

 hibitions, and through the old, strong, healthy type being 

 altered by in judicious crossing; the old, good, white-legged Pile, 

 too, has nearly disappeared. Black-breasted Reds and Duck- 

 wings, though too lengthy in thighs and shanks, still remain 

 tolerably good. I do not, however, hold with clumsy heads 

 and thick necks, haviug had excellent snake-headed birds of 

 the old type, with close, short, hard, and scant feathers ; but 

 the old, stroog, curved beak is giving way to a straight beak. 

 The Bmall whip tail is also from the Malay cross. Game fowls 

 most certainly had more stamina, and better and stronger 

 health in the old times, and were less roupy and more beau- 

 tiful than they are at present; at least, in my opinion as a 

 breeder. If our judges had made the most distinguished of the 

 best old fighting strains of all colours their standard, they 

 would certaiuly have perpetuated both a handsomer and healthier 

 race of Game fowls, our cup Brown Reds being no better 

 now than a sort of half-bred Malay, without the requisite Game 

 courage. Brown Reds, if real Game, are gipsy in face and 

 comb, with blackish legs and dark eyes, instead of being red- 

 combed and red-faced, with light eyes and Malay willow°legs, 

 which the majority of them now have. — Newmarket. 



A THIRD VISIT TO THE BRISTOL SHOW. 



I daresay some of our readers have seen in their childhood 

 a curious picture-map of England — curious, and yet verv cor- 

 rect aB to shape. It is the figure of an old woman sitting on 

 the back of a dolphin. The county of Northumberland forms 

 the old lady's conical cap, the coast of Cumberland her fore- 

 head, Morecambe Bay her mouth, Carnarvonshire her out- 

 stretched hand resting on her knee, and up her hand is crawliDg 

 a butterfly— viz., the Lie of Anglesey, and Pembrokeshire re- 

 presents her feet. She is sitting on a dolphin's back ; Norfolk 

 and Suffolk the dolphin's head, the mouth of the Thames its 

 mouth, while far-off Cornwall forms the fish's tail. Now just 

 bear in mind the position of Bristol, rather high up the dol- 

 phin's back, uniting the west of England with the south and 



office, where I meet some kind well-known faces, and other 

 kind faces seen to-day for the first time. Then a glance at the 

 cups — gorgeous cups of the usual form, with a group of poultry 

 tastefully engraved on each, and other cups of an unusual but 

 very chaste design, manufactured by Williams, of Bristol. 

 Query, is it well always to give cups? Would it not be better 

 to give other pieces of plate of like value ? Next a walk through 

 the poultry, a walk happily hindered here and there by taps on 

 the shoulder from friends behind, and hand-shaking by friends 

 in front. Ladies make morning calls, and so meet ; men meet 

 at railway stations, poultry-fanciers at shows, and there they 

 have something better to talk about than the weather. A pert 

 youth, "a boy of the period," says lispingly "that poultry 

 people seem a kind of fraternity like betting men." I answer 

 Lternly, " Like better men." 



But here I am in front of pen No. 1, Dorkings (coloured), and an 

 excellent show these truly useful birds formed. Mr. Lionel Patton 

 took the lion's share of the prizes, but Mr. John Anderson had to boast 

 of carrying off the cup with a most splendid pair of pullets : and Mr. 

 John Martin, my old acquaintance at Linton Fark, had the cup for 

 the best cock. Verily the Park Dorkings are now marvellous birds 

 for weight. Eigbtv-niue pens were shown. Silver-Greys, the pets of 

 a former generation, were but few, an! the White Dorkings were 

 scarcely more numerous, but the first-prize birds were good. 



Next Cochins^ upwards of 150 pens, and yet sometimes we hear that 

 they " are quite gone out." The White Cochins were particularly 

 lovely from their extreme cleanness. They must have occupied the 

 best bedroom during tlte late bad weather, and though they failed to 

 obtain a cup, yet let their owners understand they were among the 

 greatest attractions of the Show. Then came the Cochins' cousins the 

 Bralimas. The Dark were most perfect : the cup pullets of Mrs. Hurt 

 were splendid birds. The second-prize Li»ht Erahmas, Mrs. William- 

 son's, were excellent in size. I own I preferred the second-prize hens, 

 Mr. A. O. Worthington's. to those which took first. The Brahmas of 

 both colonrs numbered 140 pens. 



Next the special Bristolians, the Si<n,u-Ji, and these surely were 

 scarcely equal as a whole to those of former years. I know how much 

 Spanish-fanciers have to contend against, but. however, Mr. Lane's 

 cup cockerel was excellent, and some others very good. In all there 

 were thirty-three pens. The French fowls came next and were nume- 

 rous ; the drive- Cieur seemed the best. Hal, ' . Lave crept south, 

 and at Bristol there was a goodly show. The' Silver-spangled and 

 Golden-pencilled appear the favourites. The '.lame showed no falling- 

 on* ; may this noble fowl in all its varieties al« ays appear at our shows. 

 I think the Duckwings ought to have been more numerous. The first- 

 prize cockerel was a specimen of feathered beauty perfectly shown. 

 Very glad was I to see Pile Game so good, but I should like to have 



